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Living Like Your "Friends" Instead of emulating folks with a similar income, people are taking their consumption cues from television characters (how do those under-employed women on "Friends" afford that great apartment?) relatives, friends and co-workers whose income often far exceeds their own. In a culture that seems to worship wealth and celebrity, this can get expensive. The bottom line, according to Schor, is that "who you choose as a reference group affects how you …

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